Appreciations

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was a political figure with a destiny. Even as a 17-year-old, he wrote in his exercise book that he aspired to be as great as Napoleon. As a 15-year-old, he had the audacity to tell the then Governor Sir Robert Chalmers that he wanted to serve the country and would not hanker after the post of Mahamudliyar. These bits of evidence show the rare qualities of the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. When he married on October 3, 1940, the late C.W.W. Kannangara, then Minister of Education had said that the Horagolla sun was getting married to the Ratwatte moon and what a glorious galaxy it would be.

With the tragic demise of this illustrious son of the nation, Sirimavo Bandaranaike rose to the occasion to salvage the country from the muddy whirlpool in which it found itself. With courage she took over the leadership of the party and creating a world record became the first Woman Prime Minister. The rest is history now. The male offspring of this extraordinary couple was Anura Bandaranaike.

Born on the lap of luxury with parents basking in the limelight, Anura was introduced as the heir to the throne. Some called him the "Crown Prince". He received his baptism of fire as a politician as the second M.P. of the Nuwara Eliya - Maskeliya multi-member constituency in the 1977 General Election. He had to go through a traumatic experience in the Parliament when the then Government sought to deprive his mother's civic right which was an act of blatant revenge that turned the entire fabric of democracy topsy-turvy. On the first day when he got up to deliver his maiden speech, he was heckled by the Government ranks. He retorted to the cacophony of jarring voices by quoting Benjamin Disraeli, the British Prime Minister by saying:

"I will ensure that there will come a day when all of you will listen to me in pin-drop silence." To his credit it must be said that Anura ushered in that day many a time.

Observers say that the speech that Anura made at the visit of Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, Iron Lady of Britain is considered a model in English oratory. He rose to great heights when he served as the Opposition Leader in Parliament at a time when the Opposition had the least number of members in the history of the Opposition.

During that period of turmoil he remained unshaken with a commendable astuteness facing volleys of challenges. It is no exaggeration to say that he held the fort to secure democracy. He was an eloquent speaker in both Sinhala and English and had the knack of flavouring his speeches with a touch of humour. He had the rare opportunity of being the Opposition Leader, Party Leader and the Speaker of Parliament.

It was to his eternal credit that he established the supremacy of Parliament when it was challenged. Although he moved with those in the charmed circle he did not lose the common touch which was a remarkable attribute of his illustrious parents.

His activities and the discipline displayed during his political career amply demonstrated that he had imbibed the religious values and democratic norms which were adhered to and followed by his father. At the inaugural meeting of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 1951 S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike said: "We are democratic because our party does not tolerate one man's or group's dictatorship".

Anura was obviously influenced by what his illustrious father wrote on his (Anura's) album. "The main duty of man is to serve man". Anura did adhere to that meaningful advice of his father. The last words of his father to Anura were "A foolish man dressed in a yellow robe made an attempt on my life. Please extend mercy to him as well.” It requires character and exceptional greatness to extend such sympathy to one's assailant and that quality of his father had a remarkable impact upon the son.

There is no gainsaying that there are only a handful of politicians who could be called gentlemen to the very core. With the demise of Anura Bandaranaike the last link with that illustrious few has snapped.

Taking into consideration the backdrop and the circumstances under which he grew up I cannot help saying even lamentably that he was one of the "might-have-beens" in this country. May he attain the Supreme bless of Nirvana!

One of the few who “might-have-been”